A+E Interactive » Ridge Racer Unboundedhttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei
Bay Area Arts and Entertainment BlogMon, 30 Mar 2015 12:40:46 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1Two Ridge Racer games hint at future, evoke the past (preview)http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2012/01/24/two-ridge-racer-games-hint-at-future-evoke-the-past-preview/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2012/01/24/two-ridge-racer-games-hint-at-future-evoke-the-past-preview/#commentsTue, 24 Jan 2012 22:22:04 +0000Gieson Cachohttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=23628
Ridge Racer hasn’t changed much since its inception in 1993. Through several iterations, the franchise has remained an arcade racer that impresses players with its sense of speed and, of course, drifting. There was never much in the way of… Continue Reading →]]>Ridge Racer hasn’t changed much since its inception in 1993. Through several iterations, the franchise has remained an arcade racer that impresses players with its sense of speed and, of course, drifting. There was never much in the way of realism. Being behind the wheel always felt like racing on butter-slicked asphalt.
The latest entries to the franchise show how far it has come and perhaps where the series is going. The biggest update comes in the form of a new developer and its take on the series. With Finnish studio Bugbear Entertainmentat the helm, Ridge Racer Unbounded marks the biggest departure from the classic formula since, well, forever.
BIG CHANGES: The carefully designed and scripted tracks are gone, replaced by a locale called Shelter Bay. It's a more wide-open area that resembles in New York with several bridges and an awe-inspiring tower. The driving mechanics are also revamped with a chunk of more realism. Players can’t drift wily-nily around corners any more. There's more technique to leaning into a drift. Lastly, Ridge Racer Unbounded borrows a feature fromSplit/Second and lets players use the nitro meter they built up to destroy the environment and create short cuts. The power can also be used to ram competitors and disable their vehicle.
It adds a new mechanic to the series. Now players won’t just outrace each other. They’ll have to consider using the nitro to either create a short cut that others can use or temporarily knock a rival out of the race. There’s also more strategy on a track that offers slightly different routes.
SHADES OF BURNOUT 3 AND NEED FOR SPEED: BugBear’s changes, the color scheme and the plot about rival gangs racing around a Shelter Bay gives Ridge Racer Unbounded a new feel. It’s almost as if Need for Speed: Undercover and Burnout 3: Takedown had a baby. I’m not sure if that’s the best direction for the series. It’s definitely different from what longtime fans will be expecting.
It may not feel like a Ridge Racer game, but playing it last week, the upcoming title, set for release March 6, has its moments. Thankfully, it has a sense of fun in its various modes. In Domination, players get points for destroying city objects and other players as they race toward the top spot. In Drift Attack, players get points for sliding around corners. But the funnest mode turned out to be Frag Attack on a course called Public Menace. In it, players drive a big rig and they’ll have to ram cop cars to destroy them. It’s a blast to play, giving players a sense of lawlessness and power. It's something that's not done enough in racing games.
THE OTHER RIDGE RACER GAME: If fans don’t like what the creators of FlatOut are doing with the franchise, they can always check out the PlayStation Vita version of the game. Despite another new developer -- this time it’s Cellius, a venture owned by Sony and Namco Bandai -- this is closer to the racer old-school players grew up with.
I played a short stint on multiplayer, and it strikes all the chords of vintage Ridge Racer. The drifting is as slidey as ever. Players will have to draft behind an opponents slipstream not only to gain speed but also to boost their nitro. Lastly, the visuals on the track are impressive on the Vita display and are reminiscent of past courses. There are winding highways and routes across bridges and beaches.
Rather than try anything new, Ridge Racer on the Vita is a throwback, almost like a love letter to the series. It doesn’t change the franchise as drastically as Unbounded. Instead, it sticks to the same drifting formula that will satisfy loyal fans when it’s released on the Vita's launch Feb. 22.]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2012/01/24/two-ridge-racer-games-hint-at-future-evoke-the-past-preview/feed/6nikom-image93nikom-image215nikom-image20419